Friday, June 3, 2016

It's not uncommon when I show up for the first time at a new-to-me ballet studio for someone to ask me if I'm new. I've gotten in the habit of answering, "New here, yes. Not new to ballet." Which leads me to try to remember when I started.

Ignoring the few years I took classes in the mid-1980s, I started in May 2011. Which means it's been five years. Five years? Really? It doesn't seem like it. Well, maybe when I first get out of bed in the morning.

It's been interesting. I've taken classes at five different schools in the DC area, three on a regular basis and two as a drop-in. I've also taken a half-dozen classes in San Jose, a few in Raleigh, and one in London (yes, England). I was tempted to drop in on a class in Kyoto, Japan, but having neither my dance gear nor more than a smattering of the language I passed; I still wonder whether knowing Ballet French would have been sufficient.

My level of interest waxes and wanes. This time last year I was taking three to four classes a week; in the first six months of this year I think I'm averaging one every other week. If I can find decent ways to get there, taking classes at TWSB will add possibilities at times when I have scheduling conflicts with MYB classes. Maybe the second half of this year will be wax-on rather than wax-off. ;-)

I didn't make it to class this past weekend, instead taking advantage of the nice weather to enjoy one of my other hobbies. Nor did I make it Tuesday evening, succumbing to the temptations of a freshly-cooked salmon dinner. I really didn't want to go two whole weeks without a class but the only Thursday night class at MYB is Advanced Beginner and I wasn't feeling up to that.

I've been thinking about taking a class or two at TWSB for quite some time. I've also been wishing I could take some classes from a male instructor. I checked TWSB's schedule and found they had a Beginner 2 class this evening with a male instructor. Woot!

The studio is new, having only opened earlier this year. It looks new and smells new, with sprung Marley floors. The instructor turned out to be a nice guy in his 30's, I'd guess, with a good singing voice and a hands-on manner. At 75 minutes the class is shorter than the 90-minute classes I'm used to, and the difficulty level is lower than even the Sunday Beginner 2 classes. But he gives a lot of feedback and detailed directions, and this may be something I can benefit from. The slower pace also allows me to focus on little details that otherwise I wouldn't have time (or brainpower) to pay attention to.

The only real problem with this place is that it's a bitch and a half to get to, traffic-wise, being across the border into DC proper. Even at 6pm it took every bit of an hour to travel the 20 miles twixt my house and the studio.